“Lack of kindness” at Vale care home

Hayley O’Keeffe

A family-run care home has been slammed by the Care Quality Commission for ‘putting residents at risk and showing a lack of kindness’.

The Orchard, which is based in High Street South, Stewkley was branded inadequate in a report published on Christmas Eve.

But the home’s owner Pauline Hannelly dismissed the findings, saying that the inspection was as a result of one unfounded complaint.

She said: “Having been in the care business for 56 years, I take a dim view of this report. My reports have always been Good but within six months I have become inadequate, the lowest of the low, partly because the CQC is inspecting under a new set of rules.

“People in the care industry will have to get used to these rules in the future, until they change again, which is often as the past proves.

“My staff and I are justified in being very angry indeed both with CQC and the person who told them these concerns.

“I know the families of residents here at The Orchard feel as we do and have and will back me up in their knowledge that everyone is well cared for, are happy, contented and enjoy the family atmosphere of the house.”

She said she has instructed her solicitor and will be contacting her MP John Bercow, adding: “All of the things that we were ‘doing wrong’ were corrected within four weeks. We are currently awaiting a follow-up report.”

Inspectors who visited the home say they found a string of failings affecting the facility’s nine residents.

They said the service was not safe, not effective, not always caring and not responsive to the needs of residents.

An excerpt from the report reads: “We saw one person who was sat in a chair at 12.25pm and was still seated in the same position at 15.20pm and 18.10pm.”

“We witnessed interactions between staff and people who lived at The Orchard and they did not always demonstrate kindness.”

The report also found that Mrs Hannelly did not observe some fire safety regulations.